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First Band Practice Tomorrow - A Bit Hesitant


silentbob
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So, having never been in a band before, when a mate of mine who's learning to drum suggested we get together and have a little jam session I jumped at the chance. Another old mate of ours was interested in joining in on guitar which was fine by me (as I'm really only interested in doing this for shits and giggles with my mates) and we started practicing a couple of easy songs (Seven Nation Army and She Sells Sanctury). Anyhow, drummer boy mentioned to a workmate what we were doing and he then asked if he could come along and join in. All this was still fine until the drummer came round with a list of about thirty-five songs that new the guitarist had given him, with instructions for me to learn the first five. When I asked about the two songs we'd been practicing, drummer boy told me that that the new guitarist thought the guitar parts weren't very good and didn't want to do them. Now there's a couple of songs on the list which are ok, but none of it is stuff that I'm really into, lots of Oasis type stuff mainly and we're more into rock, so I suggested to drummer boy that each of us bring one song to the table so that we all get to do something we enjoy. Drummer boy agreed and I thought that it was sorted, but just found out the new guitarist hasn't been told yet. As it will probably be me having to give him the good news tomorrow and we've never met before, I'm not sure things will be getting off to a great start. Any suggestions for handling things tactfully?

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Welcome to the world of Bands. There are always tensions and differing expectations within the band. Because of that everyone has to compromise if the band is going to stick together and you also need common ground and understanding.

It sounds like the new guitarist already considers himself the band leader. If your not happy about that you either need to kick him and get someone more in line with your thinking or start again with like minded people

Bands are great fun but your better to be up front. If fun is your main objective you ned to say so. Being in a band is the fastest way to improve in my opinion

Edited by Pinball
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[quote name='silentbob' timestamp='1398453114' post='2434391']
...drummer boy told me that that the new guitarist thought the guitar parts weren't very good and didn't want to do them.....
[/quote]

He thinks the guitar part for "She Sells Sanctuary" isn't very good but he wants to play Oasis stuff?
Probably means he just can't play "She Sells Sanctuary".

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First - congrats on getting out there and doing it. You're gonna love it, it's brill playing with other people.

When I first joined a band I just went with the flow until I found my feet. Ended up playing all sorts of stuff I didn't really care for (including Seven Nation Army funnily enough) plus other stuff I wasn't familiar with before but now actually quite like.

If you're just out to have fun, try to enjoy it for a while before stressing too much about what your repetoire will be.

Having said that though, I am feeling a tad frustrated now with our guitarist picking most of the tunes. And rejecting some because he reckons the guitar part is too tricky. But making me play some ferocious basslines just cos he likes everything really fast. So maybe you are right to want to nip such behaviour in the bud.

Anyway, I hope it brings you joy. :-)

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Yup, gonna have a word straight from the off. I totally understand that in a band situation I'm going to end up playing some stuff I don't really like or enjoy, it's just that in this situation, I don't think it's right that somebody can ask to join in with something that's already going along ok, then start dictating about song choice without any regard for, or even asking what anybody else thinks. As far as I'm concerned, we're all going to pick songs that we want to play and if guitar boy doesn't like it then I guess he's in the wrong place.

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That is good news. Now the hard bit.... Finding a decent singer that'll be a good front man & not want to take control.
The hard bit is that there's loads of shower singers & not many whom are actual vocalists. So lots of sifting. Best place might be open mic or karaoke.

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The piece of wood the you play will take you on a journey and you will get to meet all kinds of people and form many new friendships.In my experience always be honest up front to fellow members and to yourself about how you feel and what you enjoy.Also a band is very much like dating a bird(or bloke) its about give and take but also compromise. Hone your art and learn to develope your playing skills to the drummer...thats very important.
As a band it sounds like its early days for you,just keep it tight on bass and enjoy your playing. I'm afraid that politics within any band could spoil it but thats something to recognise and learn from.That happens even to the top bands
When i first started out and even now there are some tracks i dont like playing but i've learnt to put my own personality to the basslines which in turn makes you grow and gain confidence and enjoying playing the tracks.
Hope this advice helps and stick with it but most of all enjoy playing and meeting fellow musicians.
Good Luck and enjoy the journey!

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[quote name='silentbob' timestamp='1398550929' post='2435265']
Well, it turns out that there were a lot of crossed wires and guitar boy was actually a decent bloke. Practice went ok and we've all picked a song each to learn for next time so all's good.
[/quote]


Brilliant news! Hope it continues to go well. Playing with other (decent) people is a joy. :-)

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